sport news CRAIG HOPE: Rooney missed the point when speaking about his return to DC United trends now
Wayne Rooney says it is disrespectful to Major League Soccer to label his return to DC United a backward step.
Mail+ wrote on Monday that his decision to return to the United States as manager of his former club was a retrograde move, given the likelihood of him landing a decent Championship or Premier League job. But Rooney used his unveiling in Washington to hit back.
‘I’ve seen a few articles, certainly back in England, on this being a backward step in my managerial career,’ he said. ‘I really find that a bit disrespectful to this league.’ The point Rooney misses is that the article was as much about him as it was MLS. It was intended as a compliment.
Wayne Rooney was appointed as the new head coach of Major League Soccer team DC United
The same was not written about Phil Neville when he took over at Inter Miami last year. For Neville, taking his first job in men’s management, it felt like a sensible move. For Rooney, it does not.
Unlike Neville, he does not need MLS as a stepping stone. He had done the hard yards at Derby, only to take what now feels like an easy option. His franchise may be joint bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they cannot be relegated.
How does that tally with the fighter in him? What can he really prove in a league which, in many ways, adheres to principles different to those of English and European football?
Some felt that his decision to return to the United States as manager of his former club was a retrograde move, given the likelihood of him landing a Championship or Premier League job
